As the voice of Anna in the "Frozen" movies, actor and singer Kristen Bell has done parents around the world a huge service by keeping their kids entertained. But this summer, the mom of two hopes kids will be the opposite of "frozen."
Physical activity is "so important for the body and mind," Bell tells TODAY.com in a phone interview — even when she and husband Dax Shepard have different ideas about what constitutes outdoor fun with their two daughters, Lincoln, 11, and Delta, 9.
Two daredevils, two 'wobbly' people
Shepard, an actor and podcaster, has made news by putting his young daughters on motorcycles and taking them off-roading. How does Bell enjoy this type of activity?
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“I am a very good passenger,” she says. “I suppose a long time ago I would have said it made me nervous. But when I see the way he teaches them, and I see how good they are, and I see how much joy it brings them, it doesn’t really make me nervous.”
"One kid got Dax’s equilibrium and the other got my equilibrium.”
Kristen Bell
Just then, a smaller voice pipes up in the background and Bell asks, “Does it make you nervous when Daddy and Lincoln are on their motorcycles?”
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“Um. Yeah,” Delta says honestly.
“Listen, if we’re just going to talk about genetics, hereditarily one kid got Dax’s equilibrium and the other got my equilibrium. And I’m sitting with the one who got my equilibrium right now,” Bell says, expertly mom-ing and chatting simultaneously.
“We are wobbly people,” Bell continues, “but my older one and Dax are incredibly adept with all types of machinery, and I just don’t really think it’s my place to stand in their way. When I see the the risk assessment that it’s teaching. I’m actually very grateful for it.”
Free-range parenting
Bell says she’s a proponent of free-range parenting, the parenting philosophy that encourages giving children more freedom and independence: “I think there should be more risks taken by kids, within reason. I think that it builds so many survival skills.”
She and Shepard try not to hover over their children as they explore the world.
“When we had our first child, we said we wanted to be ‘second child parents,’ and we made an agreement that if she wanted to do something, as long as it didn’t require a trip to the hospital, she’d be allowed to do it,” Bell explains.
When one of her toddlers wanted to walk on the back of the couch, for example, Bell says she and Shepard would cautiously allow it, knowing that a fall likely wouldn’t require a trip to the emergency room but instead just a “bonk” on the head.
“But when she got that bonk, she would realize gravity and cause-and-effect and weight distribution and risk assessment,” Bell says. “And all those things are, I think, incredibly valuable skill sets that have almost gone out of style to teach our kids because we’re so scared of them getting hurt."
"Effort equals energy"
Bell says she and Shepard make physical activity about regulating emotions rather than “working out.”
“My kids know that if they’re feeling a tantrum come on, one of the tools in their toolbox is to go outside and kick the soccer ball, or jump on the trampoline, or put their roller skates on and go as fast as they can,” Bell says. “I have found that physical output is a real helper for regulating their emotions.”
The family abides by the “effort equals energy rule,” meaning that when you put in physical effort, you will get energy in return. Putting in that effort is like a box the family has to check every day, and they use each other as accountability partners.
“So if we haven’t done anything that day, we’ll say, ‘All right, we’ve got to go on a hike in the neighborhood.’ ‘We’ve got to take the dogs for a walk,’ or ‘We’ve got to get on the trampoline for 10 minutes,’” Bell says. “And so far, because it’s part of our lifestyle now, it’s so ingrained that they’re very much accustomed to it.”
Bell has teamed up with former First Lady Michelle Obama's PLEZi Nutrition company for their first-ever Absurdly Good Games, an online competition running from today through July 8. It invites young people to share videos of the “absurdly good” ways they stay active for the chance to win a host of prizes.
To kick things off, Mrs. Obama shared a video of her top-notch jump roping skills.
As for Bell, she says her own jump roping skills are “average,” so she’s considering submitting a video of her roller skating or trampoline skills.
The family that plays together ...
In 2022, Bell shared that her daughters would sleep on the floor of her and Dax's bedroom every night.
While they usually now sleep in their own room, Bell shares that the rising sixth and fourth graders still like a parent's company at night.
"Weekends are the time they get to sleep with Mom," Bell says, explaining that the three of them cram into bed in a spare bedroom on Friday and Saturday nights.
"And Dad always makes the joke about how no one ever wants to sleep with him," Bell laughs.
"We needed to have some sort of structure," she adds. "I get a poor night's sleep with them because their bodies are getting bigger, but I know I will miss it when it's over."
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
